Syracuse football tailback Jerome Smith will enter the bowl game with 1,019 yards rushing this season and will be back in 2013 to lead a deep stable of SU backs.Frank Ordoñez / The Post-Standard

Syracuse, NY -- The Syracuse football team (7-5) is preparing to face West Virginia (7-5) at 3:15 p.m. Dec. 29 in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. It is also using several of the 15 practices allotted to bowl-eligible teams to prepare for the future, as the coaching staff starts to take a serious look at the candidates to replace departing seniors.

Over the next several days I will examine at the team position by position and predict how it breaks down heading into 2013. I started Thursday with the quarterback position. Today: tailback.

On paper, the Orange is loaded at the position, as all four backs who have gotten carries this season are due to return and will be challenged by several others. The unit does lack one element it hopes New York City star tailback Laray Smith will provide. Smith, one of the team’s top remaining recruiting targets, can flat-out fly and would add big-play potential to the group should he decide to join the party. His current status precludes his presence on the following list, which is impressive nonetheless.

Jerome Smith (6-foot, 217 pounds). A prototypical power back, Smith replaced 1,000-yard rusher Antwon Bailey and showed no signs early in the season of even coming close to Bailey’s production, rushing 10 times for 34 yards in his first career start. Then, in an effort to take the pressure off quarterback Ryan Nassib, coach Doug Marrone shifted a significant portion of the offensive load onto Smith’s shoulders and he took off. He will enter the bowl game with 1,019 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. His only fumble lost all season occurred in the opener when he failed to cover a backward pass thrown his way by Nassib. His combination of power, production and ball security will make the junior tough to dislodge in 2013.

Prince-Tyson Gulley (5-10, 192). Gulley has played the role of Smith’s sidekick to perfection this season, a pleasant surprise considering the injury problems that plagued him his first two seasons on the team. He is kind of like Bailey in that he looks like an outside threat but actually does his best work between the tackles. He has given the Orange 843 yards of offense, rushing for 617 yards (4.7 ypc) and a team-high seven touchdowns and catching 28 passes for another 226 yards and a TD. He lost only two fumbles all season. His experience and production will give him an edge heading into his senior season, but Gulley will be challenged by a host of young talent in the spring.

Adonis Ameen-Moore (5-11, 239). The true sophomore was buried on the depth chart for a reason when the season opened – he is the same kind of runner as Smith and there are only so many carries to hand out in a game. Ameen-Moore finally found a role five games into the season as the short-yardage back in SU’s goal-line “tank” offense and will enter the bowl game with 111 yards (3.6 ypc) and five touchdowns. He produced career highs in carries (10) and yards (57) during SU’s last game, a 38-20 victory over Temple. That noted, he will face the same challenge next season as he has in 2012, finding carries behind an established power back in Smith.

Ashton Broyld (6-4, 222). The player with more offensive potential and overall athletic ability than anyone on the team has been an enigma this season, and SU coaches will have to figure out how to best utilize his gifts. Do they move him back to quarterback where he starred in high school? Do they leave him at tailback? Do they try him at wide receiver where leading receivers Alec Lemon and Marcus Sales will depart following the bowl game? Do they ask him to try safety or linebacker, areas of need next season? This much is certain: Broyld has given SU fans glimpses of his ability as a true freshman, rushing for 179 yards (4.8 ypc) and a touchdown and catching seven passes for another 53 yards while playing in only half of the team’s 12 games. He will belong on the field somewhere next season. The question is where?

George Morris III (6-0, 195). Morris is a big reason the tailback competition is going to be heated come spring ball. For weeks Marrone wondered privately if he would rue his decision to redshirt the talented back from Georgia. Morris is that talented, a player running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley calls “a natural running back . . . a smooth and fluid runner . . . great cuts.” Morris has spent the year on the scout team “marinating,” according to Wheatley. The process is about over.

Devante McFarlane (6-0, 195). McFarlane spent the first half of preseason camp as a safety due to depth concerns there before Marrone moved him back to tailback where he starred in high school. He is the same size as Morris but a different kind of runner, a player Wheatley calls “a wild mustang that’s running around the plains. I’ve got to tame him. But once you put that saddle on him he will run. This kid can run. He’s another skinny big guy who is very powerful.” McFarlane exited the practice field toward the end of a season with a shoulder injury but should be back in time to join the hunt in spring ball.

That’s quite the stable of backs, and it does not include senior Steve Rene, a punt returner who can also serve as a scatback in the offense; Gus Edwards, a highly regarded Big Apple tailback who has made an oral commitment to sign with the team in February; and perhaps Smith, who would add that missing element of blazing speed should he decided to come aboard.